Overcoming Differences
by MissAndie
Summary: Andrea Martin gets along with everyone, except for a few Slytherins, although one of them has taken an interest in her. She'll do anything to defend her friends, & insulting them seems to be the only way Draco can get her attention. Will he get her in the end?
1. 1st - 3rd Year

**Disclaimer: I only own Andrea, the rest is Jo Rowling's.**

* * *

**First Year**

Andrea Martin waved goodbye to her parents and climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express. Her heart was thudding in her chest as she searched for an empty compartment. She didn't know anyone yet and, being half-blood, she hadn't exactly grown up surrounded by witches and wizards. Andrea didn't feel confident with asking to sit with anyone because she didn't know anybody.

She passed numerous compartments already filled with students chattering excitedly, some about starting at Hogwarts and others about returning. She passed a compartment with three boys inside.

Two were quite large, with cropped brown hair and small eyes. With just one glance, Andrea could tell they were both pretty stupid.

The third boy was significantly smaller than the other two, but most likely still bigger than Andrea herself. His platinum blonde hair was slicked back on his head and his skin was pale under the light streaming in through the train window. If it wasn't for the sneer plastered across his face, Andrea would've said he looked angelic.

He glanced towards the compartment door, on the other side of which Andrea stood. His eyes were a silvery-grey, the colour of melted steel, and they held Andrea's chocolate brown ones for a second before she looked away and continued down the train.

The next time she saw him was when the first years were waiting to go into the Great Hall.

"So it's true then, what everyone was saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." The pale boy was addressing a boy with scruffy black hair whom Andrea was stood close to. The Boy Who Lived? She'd heard about him.

The pale boy gestured to the two stupid-looking boys flanking him. "This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

The red-haired boy stood next to Harry Potter snorted, and Draco Malfoy looked at him in disgust.

"Think my name's funny, do you? There's no need to ask yours, is there? Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." The red-head's ears went pink, and Andrea decided she didn't like Draco Malfoy. No matter how many butterflies had disrupted her stomach when she saw him on the train.

Professor McGonagall appeared behind Malfoy and tapped him impatiently on the shoulder with a scroll of parchment. He moved away and she said,

"We are ready for you now. Follow me." Andrea had never been so nervous in all her eleven years of existence.

They were led into the Great Hall and Andrea marvelled at how amazing it looked, especially the ceiling.

"It's bewitched to look like the night sky," a bushy-haired girl in front of Andrea was explaining to another first year.

"At the very front of the Hall, in front of the teachers table, was a stool with a very old and battered-looking hat sat upon it.

"... I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and you shall be sorted into your houses," Andrea only heard the last half of what McGonagall was saying.

The professor unrolled the scroll of parchment and called the first name: Hermione Granger. It turned out to be the bushy-haired girl in front of Andrea.

One by one, names were called ad each person sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on their heads and they were sorted into their houses. Their new families within Hogwarts, McGonagall had said.

Draco Malfoy was called up, and the hat had barely touched the platinum blonde hair on his head before it yelled out,

"Slytherin!" Malfoy looked extremely pleased, smug even, as he joined the Slytherin table.

Andrea was among the last to be sorted. The older witch placed the hat on her head and it slipped forward slightly, making it difficult for her to see.

"Gryffindor!" The hat finally called out, and Andrea smiled in relief. As her sight was returned, she saw the table of red and gold cheering and she grinned as she hopped off the stool and headed to join them.

On her way down, however, she couldn't help but steal a glance over at the Slytherin table. Once again, her eyes locked with silvery-grey ones, but this time Andrea wasn't the first to look away.

Malfoy looked down at the table, a pink twinge colouring his pale cheeks.

Andrea frowned slightly, before sitting down at the Gryffindor table next to a sandy-haired boy who introduced himself as Seamus Finnigan.

"Andre Martin," she said, smiling. A dark-skinned boy on the other side of Seamus looked at Andrea and said,

"I'm Dean Thomas." Andrea giggled.

"Hi Dean."

"I'm Ron Weasley," the red-haired boy from earlier spoke up, and Harry Potter nervously introduced himself as well.

"Hi, Harry!" Andrea said cheerfully, wanting to make the boy feel more comfortable. "I'm Andrea." He smiled at her.

Andrea could hear Hermione Granger talking to Percy Weasley, one of the Gryffindor prefects, about all of the different classes. Andrea leaned forward slightly.

"Hermione, what class are you looking forward to the most? I'm Andrea by the way." Hermione turned to her.

"I can't decide which one I'm looking forward to the most," she said enthusiastically. "I think Transfiguration sounds one of the most interesting, but it also sounds like it would be the most difficult."

"I think Charms might be good," Andrea said. Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement.

The two girls spent the remainder of the meal talking, and Andrea found herself opening up to Hermione more than she had ever done with her other friends. Pretty soon, though, Dumbledore was stood in front of them once again, giving them a few start-of-term notices before ushering them off to bed.

Percy led the Gryffindor first years to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.

"Password?" She asked. Percy said the password, and the portrait swung open. The first years followed Percy in and were soon in a circular room with the Gryffindor drapes lining the walls, a roaring fire and numerous sofas and chairs dotted around. There was a large arched window near the fireplace and two staircases opposing each other leading off of the room.

"Boys, follow those stairs up to the first door on your left for your dormitory," Percy said, gesturing to one of the staircases. "Girls, same rules apply up that staircase. All of your belongings have already been brought up for you. Breakfast is at 8am, and you'll get your new timetables then. Sleep well."

The students all filed up the separate staircases. Andrea and Hermione were jittery with excitement. As soon as the girls spilled into their new dormitory, Andrea immediately saw her trunk at the end of the bed nearest the window.

"Yes!" She exclaimed running and jumping onto it. Hermione ran to her own bed which was next to Andrea's and giggled, and the two other girls in the dormitory did the same.

Pretty soon, all of them were climbing into bed, exhausted from the exciting day. Andrea fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the soft, full pillow.

* * *

"Martin!" Andrea groaned as she heard her name being called from the other end of the corridor behind her. It was almost June, and almost the end of her first year at Hogwarts.

She'd become best friends with Hermione Granger, Seamus Finnigan and became the Weasley twins' apprentice. She didn't get along so well with Draco Malfoy, his cronies or his supposed 'girlfriend' Pansy Parkinson.

She spun on her heel in time to see a dungbomb headed for her face. She gasped and managed to duck in time, letting the thing soar over her head and hit the wall behind her.

She straightened up and sighed. She was getting bored of Malfoy's childish pranks.

"Need to work on your aim a little," she said, smiling sweetly before walking outside. Andrea constantly thought back to the first time she ever laid eyes on Draco Malfoy, marvelling at how stupid she'd been to think he looked angelic! He was far from angelic, closer to being the spawn of Satan himself.

* * *

**Second Year**

Slipping into an empty train compartment, Andrea sighed. She sunk down onto the seat nearest the window and watched the green English scenery fly by.

She was looking forward to returning to Hogwarts for her second year, but she had a strange feeling that not everything was going to go well. She didn't know why, but she couldn't shake it.

The sound of the compartment door sliding opening interrupted her thoughts and she turned to see Draco Malfoy sauntering in. Andrea was surprised to see he was without his 'bodyguards'.

"Good summer, Martin?" He asked, smirking. He sat down beside her.

"Fine, thanks," She replied politely.

"Did you miss me?" He swung an arm across her shoulders.

"Nope." He opened his mouth to say something before the compartment door slid open once more to reveal Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Seamus asked, narrowing his eyes at the Slytherin.

"You should really leave now, Malfoy," Andrea said.

"And why's that, Martin?" Malfoy asked, leaning closer to her. She sighed before elbowing him in the stomach. His arm retreated from around her as he doubled over in pain.

"It wasn't that hard, Malfoy," Andrea said. She really wasn't in the mood to be dealing with him. "Stop being such a girl."

* * *

Andrea sat on a bench with Ron and Hermione, going over their Charms homework.

"Oh no, I smell trouble," she heard Ron say. The two girls looked up and followed his gaze to see the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the Slytherin team arguing.

They stood up and walked over to them. Ron and Hermione stood next to Harry, whilst Andrea stood further back.

"I heard your team's got a new seeker," Oliver Wood said. "Who?" There was a few seconds of silence while the Slytherin team parted and let Draco Malfoy make his way to the front.

"Malfoy?" Harry said incredulously. Andrea rolled her eyes at Malfoy's smirk, and stopped listening as he began bragging about how his father, Lucius, had bought the entire Slytherin team brand new Nimbus 2001 broomsticks.

"At least Harry didn't have to buy his way onto the team," Hermione said, folding her arms across her chest. "He got in based on pure talent."

Malfoy stepped closer to her, and Andrea inhaled sharply. What was he going to do?

"Nobody asked you," he said nastily. "You filthy little Mudblood." Andrea and all the other Gryffindors gasped, horrified, while the Slytherins all snickered. She was amazed at how Hermione hadn't even blinked. She was currently staring Malfoy down.

"You'll pay for that one Malfoy," Ron cried, pulling out his sellotaped wand. "Eat slugs!" An awful green light blasted backwards from the wand and knocked Ron about 10 feet back. The Slytherins all burst out laughing as Ron sat up, rolled over and started convulsing. The Gryffindors, minus Andrea, all ran over to him.

Andrea winced as she heard Ron throw up, and she thought it safe to assume that the spell had backfired and had made him regurgitate slugs.

Malfoy was still laughing, and she glared at him. She walked towards him, and he smirked. Her hand moved, but instead of reaching for her wand, she reached up and slapped Malfoy hard across the face. He looked back at her, shocked. A hand mark was already vividly showing on his cheek, and she smirked, satisfied with herself.

She leaned in closer to him, before whispering, "If you ever call Hermione that again, you won't get let off so lightly." She smiled sweetly before running off to catch up with Harry, Ron and Hermione as they made their way down to Hagrid's hut.

* * *

**Third Year **

Andrea sat down beside Hermione at the Welcoming Feast.

"Hey, guys," she greeted Hermione, Ron and Harry.  
"Hey, Andie," they all greeted her. Andrea frowned as she noticed their expressions.

"Something wrong?" She asked. Harry shook his head.

"We'll tell you when we get back to the common room," he said. She nodded, but then her attention was drawn by a commotion at the Slytherin table.

"What the...?" Harry and Ron turned in their seats to watch Malfoy doing an imitation of someone fainting.

"Just forget it," Hermione told them. They turned back. Harry's expression was sour.

"I take it that's got something to do with it?" Andrea asked tentatively. Harry sighed.

"Basically, you know the Dementors came onto the train to search it for Sirius Black?" Andrea nodded. "Well..." Harry seemed to be struggling for words.

"They had a nasty effect on Harry, and he fainted," Hermione finished.

"And Malfoy seems to be having a field day because of it," Ron muttered.

"Don't worry," George Weasley piped up from the other side of Hermione. "The little git wasn't so cocky when the Dementors were down our end of the train. He came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," said Fred, picking up a chicken leg from one of the newly-filled plates in front of him. Andrea snorted.

"Sounds about right," she said, helping herself to a piece of pie. "He should swap names with Parkinson; Pansy suits him much better." Fred and George agreed.

"So, worthy apprentice," Fred began.

"Got any new tricks for us this year?" George finished. Andrea's brown eyes twinkled.

"I just might," she said. "But you'll have to wait and see."

* * *

Draco Malfoy looked up from his plate and the first thing he saw was Andrea. Merlin, she was beautiful. She was sat with those pathetic idiots the Weasley twins, along with Granger, Weasley and Potter.

"Draco," Pansy Parkinson purred in his ear. "

"What Pansy?" He replied, irritated.

"Could you pass me the sausages?" He sighed and handed her the plate. He noticed that she purposely brushed her fingers across his hands, and he resisted the urge to cringe. What did he ever do to get stuck with her?

Draco looked back up at Andrea, and saw that she was now laughing at something, and his heart ached with the need to be the one making her laugh.

Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with excitement and happiness, and he wondered if she ever felt about that moment on the train, first year.

Probably not, he thought bitterly, stabbing a piece of beef with his fork.

"Watch it, mate," Blaise Zabini nudged him. "That beef never did anything to you." Draco forced a laugh, before shoving the food into his mouth.

His eyes wandered once again back to Andrea. Her hair was a chestnut brown, and it was shimmering under the lights of the Great Hall. Draco wondered how soft it was, how easy it would be to run his fingers through it...

"What's wrong Draco?" Pansy's voice interrupted his thoughts, and for once he was thankful. He needed to stop thinking like that.

"Nothing, Pansy," he said. "Just tired, is all." He glanced at Blaise, whose eyebrow was raised.

Draco shot him a look, and Blaise carried on eating. He was the only person who knew how Draco felt about Andrea, and there was the rare occasion when Draco wished he hadn't confided in his fellow Slytherin.

But he was thankful to have someone to talk to about it. Blaise was more forgiving than most Slytherins, something one didn't realise unless they knew Blaise as well as Draco did.

As he lay in bed that night, he wondered what Andrea was thinking at that very moment.

* * *

Andrea followed Harry, Ron and Hermione down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut for their first Care Of Magical Creatures Class. As the class gathered around Hagrid, she noticed Malfoy and realised that the Slytherins and Gryffindors must be sharing the class. She groaned inwardly.

"So, firs' thing to do is open yer books–"

"How, exactly?" Andrea rolled her eyes as Malfoy questioned Hagrid.

"What?" Asked Hagrid.

"How do we open the books?" Malfoy asked, cockily repeating his question extra slowly as if Hagrid were stupid.

"You stroke the spine, Malfoy," Andrea spoke up. She glared the Slytherin, who smirked at her.

"I've got something you can stroke, Martin," he said, winking. The Slytherins all laughed, cheering.

"Is that so?" Andrea asked. She faced him. "Oh, that's right; your face with my fist!" Seamus grabbed her wrist to restrain her, and Malfoy looked taken aback for a second before the smirk returned. Andrea's eyes sparkled with anger, and she returned her attention to Hagrid.

"God, this place has gone to the dogs," Malfoy stated, taking a bite of an apple."Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes."

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry said quietly. Andrea bit her lip, stopping her from saying anything. Malfoy and his cronies jeered at Harry, and then he suddenly looked stricken.

"Dementor, Dementor!" He cried, pointing behind Harry. The Gryffindors all spun on their heel, but saw nothing. The Slytherins all laughed.

"Ahem." Hagrid cleared his throat. The students all faced him. "Say hello to Buckbeak!" Andrea gasped as she saw the most beautiful creature she'd ever laid eyes on. It was half horse, half eagle, with the biggest yellow eyes she'd ever seen.

"Hagrid," Ron began. "Exactly what is that?"

"It's a–"

"Hippogriff," Andrea interrupted Hagrid. He looked at her and smiled when he saw the look of awe on her face as she looked at the creature.

"Andrea's correct," he said. "Buckbeak is a Hippogriff. Now, the firs' thing you wan' to know about Hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures and very easily offended. If you insult a Hippogriff, it will most likely be the last thing you ever do."

Buckbeak raised his chin a little, as if he could understand every word coming out of Hagrid's mouth.

"Who wants to come an' say hello?" Hagrid asked enthusiastically. Students began murmuring, but no-one volunteered. Andrea opened to her mouth to say she would but Harry beat her to it.

"I'll do it," he said. Andrea clapped softly as Harry was the first to approach Buckbeak.

* * *

Draco was astounded at the look on Andrea's face when Hagrid brought out the Hippogriff. He personally didn't see the appeal of the half horse, half bird, but then she wasn't like him.

But that was nothing compared to the shock he'd felt when she'd threatened to punch him. There was real anger behind her words; he very much doubted she was bluffing.

He also found it strange that she seemed to prefer using physical violence rather than magic to hurt him. Maybe that's what came with growing up with a Muggle parent.

I don't understand how someone as amazing as her is only a half-blood, he thought incredulously.

Draco ignored all of the gasps following Potter's adventure with the Hippogriff. He wanted to show Andrea that he could do anything Potter could. He dumped his bag on the floor and threw his apple down.

"Well done, Harry!" The Gryffindors were cheering. Andrea was clapping happily and laughing.

"Oh, please," Draco said, and strode towards the Hippogriff.

"Hey!" A Gryffindor said as he was pushed aside.

"You're not dangerous at all, are you?" Draco said, nearing Buckbeak. "You great ugly brute."

"Malfoy..." Hagrid said, but he trailed off when Buckbeak suddenly reared. Draco looked up in shock and lifted his arm to shield his face as Buckbeak brought his talons down and, amidst the gasps of the students, Draco cried out in pain as he landed on the floor. Andrea gasped.

"Buckbeak!" Hagrid cried, waving his arms up to calm the Hippogriff. He threw a dead ferret to distract Buckbeak.

* * *

"It's killed me, it's killed me!" Malfoy was yelling, and Andrea bit down on her fist to stop her from laughing out loud.

"Calm down, it's just a scratch," Hagrid said, clearly trying to control his panic.

"Hagrid, he has to be taken to the hospital wing," Andrea said, calmly. Hagrid leaned down and scooped Malfoy up easily, who was whimpering like crazy.

"You'll regret this," he said. "You and your bloody chicken." Andrea shook her head in disbelief.

"I didn't think anyone could be _that_ stupid!" She said, picking her bag up.

"It was _that oaf's_ fault!" Pansy shrieked, tears streaming down her face. "He should be sacked!"

"It had nothing to do with Hagrid," Andrea replied, her tone flat.

"It was Malfoy's fault," Dean Thomas snapped. Andrea sighed and walked quicker than the rest of the group, ignoring the Slytherins' quips about Hagrid.

She headed straight to the library to make a head start on the Arithmancy essay they'd been given. She was supposed to be doing it with Hermione, but she figured the other witch would be with Harry and Ron after what had just happened.

* * *

Andrea was looking for Ron and Hermione in Hogsmeade, when she heard Malfoy's voice:

"Are you two shopping for your new dream home? It's a bit grand for you isn't it Weasle-bee? Don't your family sleep in one room?" Andrea followed the voice, and hid behind a tree when she saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle rounding on Ron and Hermione.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron muttered.

"Oh, not very nice," Malfoy said, and Andrea could practically hear the sneer. "Boys, how about we teach Weasle-bee how to respect his superiors."

Hermione gave a hard, sarcastic laugh. "I hope you don't mean _yourself_." She said, jumping to Ron's defence.

"How dare you speak to me?" Malfoy demanded, stepping towards Hermione. "You filthy little Mudblood." Andrea's blood boiled and she reached for her wand.

She was ready to hex him into next week when a snowball came out of nowhere and hit Malfoy right in the face. She giggled to herself, leant against the tree and decided to see how this would pan out.

* * *

Draco pulled himself back up from the snow and headed in the direction of Hogsmeade Village, pushing Crabbe and Goyle out of the way.

As he passed a tree, he caught a glimpse of chestnut brown hair under a black beanie. He looked back again and his eyes locked with Andrea's, and he realised that she'd heard him call Granger a Mudblood.

He looked away, thinking back to second year when she'd slapped him for calling Granger a Mudblood.

_ "You won't get let off so lightly_ _if you do it again,"_ she'd said. From the glare she'd just sent his way, he had no doubt that she was angry.

Then he began to remember the bolt of electricity as her hand had come into contact with his cheek, how soft her hand had been...

Stop! Draco scolded himself, shaking his head to clear the thoughts.


	2. 4th Year

**Disclaimer: I only own Andrea, the rest is Jo Rowling's.**

* * *

Draco and his friends entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, laughing at their theories of how the teacher would meet his downfall this year. Their laughter was silenced, however, when Professor Mad-Eye Moody glared at them from his desk at the front.

They sat down at their seats quietly and Draco's eyes scanned the room. He found her, sitting at her desk, doodling in the back of what he thought must be a diary of some kind.

She looks adorable, he thought.

"Alastor Moody," the ex-Auror began the class. Muttering between students ceased, and Andrea slipped the diary back into her bag.

Draco didn't pay much attention to what Moody was saying. Something about Unforgivable Curses?

"_Imperio_," Moody said, and Draco looked to the front to see a huge spider floating about. Students were laughing as it landed on people's desks and books. Draco couldn't stop himself when it landed on Weasley's face.

"What are you laughing at?" Moody asked, gleefully planting the spider on Draco's face.

"Get it off!" He cried to Goyle, who waved his arms stupidly. Moody eventually removed the spider and Draco heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced over at Andrea, who was watching him with a mild curiosity. He felt his cheeks heat up, and Andrea broke eye contact, seemingly indifferent.

He once again didn't listen to Moody as he rambled on about people using the Imperius Curse. He didn't look back at the front of the class until he saw Andrea's expression grow stricken, and he saw Moody performing the Cruciatus Curse on the spider.

He winced as he heard the spider's squeaks of pain, and looked at Andrea again to see that she was holding a hand to her mouth and her eyes were watering.

Draco desperately wanted to comfort her, but he knew he couldn't.

* * *

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks Malfoy!" Andrea heard Harry yelling across the courtyard. "He's vile, and cruel. And you're just pathetic." She shoved her books in her bag and hurried to see what was going on.

She pushed through the crowd of students to see Harry walking away from Malfoy, who was drawing his wand with an angry expression on his pale face.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Someone yelled and an angry golden light struck Malfoy. Andrea watched as he shrunk, disappearing and leaving in his place a white ferret.

The students laughed and Andrea smiled slightly as Moody tormented the poor animal by waving it around everywhere.

"Professor Moody!" McGonagall called. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching," Moody replied, concentrating on the ferret.

"Is that a student?" McGonagall exclaimed in disbelief.

"Technically it's a ferret," was the reply, before Moody deftly shoved it down Crabbe's trousers. Andrea winced, feeling sorry for Malfoy. The students continued to laugh as Crabbe wriggled and Goyle attempted and failed to retrieve the ferret, getting bitten in the process.

It finally emerged from Crabbe's left leg, and McGonagall swiftly waved her wand. Malfoy appeared, looking shaken. He struggled to stand, and Andrea assisted him.

He looked up and met her eyes, sparkling with both amusement and sympathy, before whirling around and staring, wide-eyed, at Professor Moody.

"My father will hear about this!" He declared, backing away from Moody.

"Is that a threat?" The ex-Auror yelled, advancing on Malfoy who moved swiftly around the base of the tree. Moody continued yelling at Malfoy as he ran off, followed by the Slytherins.

Later on, Andrea was in the Great Hall doing a Transfiguration essay when she overheard the Slytherins talking on their table.

"... he's such a cheat, my father's furious that he's being allowed the chance to compete," she overheard, and it was unmistakably Malfoy talking.

She listened to bit longer before turning around and facing them. Malfoy's eyes widened and then he smirked.

"Shut up Malfoy," she said, narrowing her eyes. His smirk grew.

"Make me, Martin," he said, challenging her with his gaze.

She grabbed hold of her Transfiguration textbook – the heaviest one she owned – and hurled it in his direction with such force that it even made her nervous.

He only just managed to duck in time and the book soared over his head, landing with a _thud_ on the floor behind him.

The Great Hall had gone silent, with students from Hogwarts watching them with interest, Beauxbatons students watching with shock and amusement, and the Durmstrang students looked impressed.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Martin," a cold voice spoke up, and the Slytherins all adopted smug expressions. Except Malfoy, who seemed to still be recovering. Andrea turned to see Professor Snape standing ten feet away from her. She sighed. Brilliant.

She shoved her half-finished essay into her bag along with her quill and inkpot and headed out of the Great Hall, picking up the heavy textbook on the way. The Great Hall erupted with murmurs as soon as she left the room, and she rolled her eyes.

Gossips, the lot of them! She thought, shaking her head.

* * *

Draco stared as he watched Andrea dance with a Durmstrang student at the Yule Ball on Christmas Eve. She looked positively radiant; her chestnut hair was curled and tumbling down her back, she was wearing a simple, navy blue, strapless dress that contrasted beautifully against her chocolate brown eyes, and the only jewellery she wore was a simple silver bangle that swung delicately on her wrist as she danced.

She was giggling as the Durmstrang twirled her around, and Draco regretted not finding the courage to ask her to be his date to the ball. Not that she would have gone with him anyway.

When the music ended, the Durmstrang bowed and kissed Andrea's hand. Draco made the decision instantly, and nudged Blaise as he stood up. The other Slytherin looked at him, and Draco gestured to Andrea. Blaise smiled knowingly, and winked.

Draco took a deep breath, adjusted his dress robes and walked over to where Andrea was inspecting what food was on offer. He tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned he saw the surprised expression on her face.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Dance with me, Martin?" He offered his hand, smiling at her. Andrea was surprised to see that he was capable of producing a genuine smile, and was even more surprised to find that she thought him cute with it.

She smiled in return, and placed her small hand in his pale one. He led her onto the dance floor and they danced gracefully.

"So Martin," Draco tried to think of a good conversation topic. "Who's the lucky guy calling himself your date tonight?" Andrea felt her mouth go dry. She should've known he'd ask this.

"Erm," she stammered, trying to think of a good way to say she'd come alone. She decided to just come out with it. "Nobody asked me."

"What?!" He asked, incredulously. She looked sharply at him.

"What?"

"_Nobody_ asked you? I don't believe that for a second!"

"Well believe it Malfoy, because it's true." He shook his head in disbelief and adjusted his hand on Andrea's waist.

When the song ended, she pulled away.

"Thanks for the dance, Martin," he said, smirking. Her smile faltered at the fact that his trademark smirk was back, but he didn't notice.

"You're welcome, Malfoy," she replied, smiling. Draco lifted her hand to his lips, and Andrea felt herself blush slightly. As she walked away, she hoped he hadn't noticed her blushing at him kissing her hand.

But he had, and he thought about it for the remainder of the night.

* * *

As the second task neared its end, Seamus Finnigan comforted Andrea in an attempt to calm her nervousness at Harry's failure to surface. He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Draco glared at him from across the stands, and considered hexing him.

Ron appeared with a little girl, presumably Fleur Delacour's little sister Gabrielle, and everyone held their breath waiting for Harry to follow. Eventually he did, just as the clock struck the end of their hour.

Andrea pulled away from Seamus and rushed to help a recovering Harry, and Draco sighed. She would never rush to help him like that.

"You alright, mate?" Blaise asked, frowning. Draco nodded.

"Yeah," he said, sighing again. "I just wish she didn't hate me."

"I doubt she hates you," Blaise said, chuckling. "She danced with you at the Ball, didn't she?"

"Well yes, but she was probably just feeling nice and didn't want to ruin the atmosphere," Draco protested. "Besides, if I let myself think she doesn't hate me then I'll end up convincing myself that I can actually have her."

Blaise scoffed and shook his head. He'd seen Andrea blush when Draco kissed her hand at the Yule Ball, seen how good they were together.

As they made their way back to the castle, Pansy Parkinson latched herself onto Draco's arm and he cringed.

"Draco," Pansy whispered, leaning close to him.

"Yes, Pansy?"

"Will you help me with the Potions essay?" Draco inwardly groaned and shot Blaise a pleading look.

"Actually, he's helping me with something," Blaise said, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"None of your business!" Blaise replied dismissively. Pansy stalked off, arms folded across her chest, and Draco sighed in relief.

"Thank you!"

"Now you can help _me_ with the Potions essay," Blaise said, smirking. Draco shrugged.

"Okay."

They entered the library, having returned to the common room to grab the necessary equipment. Blaise located a table while Draco searched for the right textbook.

While scanning the bookshelves, he caught a glimpse of Andrea seated at a table, quill in hand. She was pouring over a textbook, and Draco realised it was the one he needed.

He rushed back to Blaise, who had apparently broken his quill.

"Can you lend me one?" He asked as Draco sat down.

"Martin's got the textbook," Draco said. Blaise looked at him.

"Ask her to join us," he said simply. "Then we can all use it." Draco looked at him as if he had three heads.

"Are you crazy?" He shook his head in disbelief. Blaise shrugged.

"I'll do it then," he said, getting to his feet. Draco let his head fall into his hands as Blaise walked away.

Andrea heard footsteps approaching her table and looked up to see Blaise Zabini looking at her.

"What, Zabini?" She asked, sighing.

"Will you join Draco and me?" He asked. Andrea detected nothing behind his voice; no sarcasm, no mocking. Nothing.

"What for?" She asked hesitantly. The last thing she wanted was to be near Malfoy after what had happened at the Ball.

"You're using the textbook we need," Zabini replied.

"Oh," was all Andrea could say. That was not what she'd been expecting.

"We won't bite, Martin," Zabini said, a hint of teasing now evident in his tone. "We just want to get this essay out of the way."

"Fine," Andrea muttered, handing him the textbook and picking her things up.

"Thank you," he said, leading the way back to his table. Andrea noticed Malfoy's eyes widened as she nervously sat down at their table, and Blaise smirked at him.

"Erm, hi," Andrea managed, struggling to understand why she'd agreed to sit with the two Slytherins. She absently twirled a few strands of hair around one of her fingers, oblivious to Malfoy's gaze upon her, as she found the right page of the textbook again.

She pulled out the piece of parchment she'd begun writing the essay on, as well as her quill and ink pot.

"Where did you get to?" Zabini asked. Andrea told him, and waited while the two boys caught up, enabling them to work at the same pace and help each other if necessary.

As Andrea made her way back to the Gryffindor common room later on, she marvelled at how strangely comfortable she'd felt with them, and wondered how that was so.

* * *

On the day of the third task, students from the three magical schools swarmed down to the stands that were situated at the entrance to the Maze.

Andrea seated herself between Hermione and Seamus, chatting excitedly about the task and what it would entail.

Harry, Cedric, Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour stood at their individual entrances to the Maze, and when Argus Filch blew the cannon they disappeared within rather quickly.

The entrances sealed themselves and Andrea took deep breaths to calm her nerves.

She hoped none of them would get seriously injured, or even injured at all, whilst inside the Maze, and Seamus squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"They'll be fine," he said, smiling. Andrea smiled back.

Draco was seated in the row behind Andrea with Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle were talking food, as usual, and Pansy was telling Blaise all about the new dress her mother had bought for her.

Draco's attention was fixated on Andrea, and he noticed her evident anxiety. He saw Finnigan comforting her and inwardly groaned as that desire to be in the Irish Gryffindor's position filled him.

After about an hour and a half, two figures appeared in front of the stands. Viktor and Fleur had already returned, so everybody knew it was Harry and Cedric. But Andrea knew something was wrong.

She stood with everybody else, but she wasn't cheering. Cedric's eyes were wide, and she could see their emptiness from where she stood. Harry was crying into Cedric's chest, but nobody else seemed to have noticed.

Fleur Delacour was the first to scream, a high-pitched sound that shocked everyone into realisation.

"Harry!" Andrea cried, attempting to rush to his side. Seamus didn't move in time to stop her, but a pair of arms around her waist lifted her back and prevented her from reaching the pair.

Draco held Andrea tightly as she screamed for Harry and Cedric, desperate to aid them. She kicked and scrambled and tried her upmost best to pull away from him, but to no avail.

Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were looking at them in horror, while Blaise's eyes held respect for Draco for acting so publicly.

Andrea eventually calmed down, after Moody took Harry away and the teacher's dealt with Cedric's body and his traumatised father. She leaned into Draco's chest and breathed deeply.

Andrea's fellow Gryffindors noticed, as well as the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws, but they were all a lot less obvious with their curiosity than the Slytherins were with their shock and horror.

But she didn't care whose arms were around her, whose aftershave she was breathing in, whose voice was whispering soothingly into her hair.

All she cared about was that in those arms, she felt safe, safer than she had all year.

* * *

Eventually the whispers about Andrea and Draco died down, mainly due to the fact that Draco stated he was merely restraining her while the teachers dealt with a dead student, and Andrea simply said that she didn't even know what she was doing.

But Andrea knew that, once she had calmed down, she knew exactly what she was doing, and Draco knew that his actions went beyond feeling a duty to restrain her.

Now they were both finding it difficult to ignore, but each was completely indifferent to how the other felt.

* * *

Seamus and Dean joined Andrea in the train compartment, and soon after they began the journey back to Kings Cross, they were joined by Neville and Ginny.

"This was left out there for some reason, Andie," Ginny said, handing her an envelope.

Her name was scrawled on the front, and Andrea recognised the handwriting but didn't know where from.

"What is it?" Dean asked curiously. Andrea shrugged.

"No idea," she replied, flipping it over in her hands. "But it can wait." She shoved it into her jacket pocket, and the rest of the train journey was filled with random conversational topics, what the next year at Hogwarts may have in store, what everyone was doing over the summer, food from the trolley and lots of jokes.

But as soon as Andrea got home, she rushed to her room and pulled out the now-crumpled envelope. She opened the envelope and gently pulled out the small piece of parchment that was folded inside.

_Andrea,_

_Your chestnut brown hair shines in such a way that even the sun is jealous._

_Your eyes make me think of large pools of caramel chocolate._

_Your smile lights up the room better than even Hogwarts best candles._

_Your laugh is a more magical sound than a mermaid's song._

_I look forward to seeing you next year,_

_You alone make it bearable._

She smiled to herself, wondering who it could be, and if they would make themselves known when they returned to Hogwarts in September.


	3. 5th Year (Part 1)

**Sorry I haven't updated this for a while, had writers block D: R&R!  
**

**Disclaimer: I only own Andrea, the rest is Jo Rowling's.**

* * *

Andrea jerked awake as she felt something poke her ribs.

"Wha?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Wakey-wakey, Sleepyhead!" Fred Weasley exclaimed brightly.

"Food!" George Weasley said, using the same enthusiastic tone as his brother.

"What did I miss?" Andrea asked, yawning.

"I think you dozed off just as the last few first years were sorted," Fred said. "So you missed the most awe-inspiring speech!" His sarcasm was evident, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Do you see the pink thing up there?" George asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of the teacher's table. Andrea's eyes did even have to look hard – she saw the 'pink thing' instantly.

"Yeah."

"That's the new D.A.D.A teacher, Professor Umbridge."

"Right..."

"She's from the Ministry," Hermione cut in.

"Well that's never a good sign," Andrea muttered, helping herself to a few roast potatoes. "Let me guess: they're interfering at Hogwarts?" Hermione nodded.

"How can you pick up on that without even hearing the speech?" Ron asked incredulously. "I didn't, and I was sort of listening."

"It's called common sense Ron," Ginny Weasley said. "And brains, but of course you wouldn't know much about that."

Andrea giggled and high-fived Ginny. Fred and George hollered, Harry smirked and Hermione cracked a smile. Ron's ears went pink as he glared at his little sister.

* * *

Andrea was watching the scene before her unfold with interest. Seamus Finnigan, one of her best friends, was yelling at Harry Potter, another of her good friends.

She sighed and really hoped she wouldn't be expected to take sides.

"Do you really believe the rubbish he's coming out with about You-Know-Who?" Seamus demanded to Ron.

"Yeah, I do," Ron said bluntly. "Has anyone else got a problem with Harry?"

The common room was silent, and most Gryffindor's avoided looking at Harry and Ron.

Harry stormed up to the boys' dorm, quickly followed by Ron, and the Gryffindor common room was tense for a few moments before the buzz of chatter broke out again.

"Everything'll sort itself out in time, Andie," Fred assured her, noticing her worried expression.

"I know," she said, sighing. "It's just all getting a bit much at the moment."

"Who do you believe?" George blurted. His face flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm just curious."

"What do you believe?" Andrea asked him. The twins exchanged a glance.

"Come up to our dorm, we'll fill you in," Fred said. Andrea nodded and the three made their way up to the seventh year boys' dormitory. Nobody paid any attention to them; they frequently went up there when planning pranks.

"So, what's going on?" Andrea asked as George cast a Silencing Charm as a precaution.

"Well," Fred began, launching into a detailed account of what had happened since Lord Voldemort had returned. George helped, and Andrea listened patiently, not interrupting.

"I think Harry has a right to know what's going on in the Order," she said when they'd finished. "He's been through so much, and he's the one that Voldemort wants dead anyway so why keep things from him?"

"We do agree with you there," Fred said, nodding. "Dumbledore's intent on him not knowing, though."

"Dumbledore should know better than anyone that Harry needs to know these things." They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, it's our last year," George changed the subject.

"Which means that we have to go out with style, preferably," Fred said.

"And you, young apprentice, will have to carry on in our name," George finished.

"Let's get this year over with before we start talking about me keeping the Weasley Legend alive," Andrea said, laughing.

"I think our first target should be Malfoy, don't you agree, George?"

"I do agree, Fred."

"What about you think, Andie?"

"I think we should get planning," Andrea said, her brown eyes sparkling.

* * *

Draco walked into the Great Hall with Crabbe and Goyle for breakfast.

"I hate the first day," he muttered. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in agreement. The three sat down at the Slytherin table and Draco helped himself to bacon and eggs.

As he chewed on a piece of bacon, he found himself drenched in a sticky substance – Butterbeer, he realised – and the laughing-stock of the entire Great Hall. He looked up to see a bucket floating above him, and realised that the laugh he could hear above everyone else's was Andrea's.

He looked over at the Gryffindor table to see her high-fiving the Weasley twins, and felt more humiliated than ever. He stood up and left the Great Hall, ignoring the jeering laughter of the Hogwarts students.

Once he was in the boys' bathroom, he cast a quick few spells to dry himself up and checked his appearance in the mirror, before sighing and heading to class. But he realised halfway there that he had left the Great Hall before receiving his timetable.

"Draco!" He groaned inwardly at the sound of Pansy Parkinson calling him.

"Yes, Pansy?" He replied as politely as he could manage.

"Professor Snape asked me to give you your timetable." She handed him the parchment. "Defence Against the Dark Arts first, with that new teacher."

"Okay." Draco didn't have the energy to shrug Pansy off as she clung to his arm while they headed to class. They entered the room and Draco realised with a groan that the only free desk meant he would have to sit next to Pansy.

One of the Patil twins had charmed an Origami bird and it was now soaring over the heads of the students. Seamus Finnigan whacked it, and Crabbe used a slingshot to shoot something at it.

Then it caught on fire, and attention was drawn to the back of the class where Dolores Umbridge was stood, delicately pointing her wand at where the Origami bird had just fallen.

She began talking, and Draco zoned out. Her voice was irritating, and he was still recovering from this morning's episode. His grey eyes wandered about the room, stopping on Andrea who was seated next to Granger. He watched as she flicked through the textbook and whispered something to Granger.

"... Lord Voldemort!" Draco snapped to attention. Potter was arguing with Umbridge, and the students began whispering.

"This is a lie," Umbridge was saying.

"It's not a lie – I saw him, I fought him!" Potter protested.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge cried. Pansy sniggered.

Draco stopped listening. He had a horrible feeling of unease settling in his stomach. He knew for a fact that it was no lie; that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had indeed returned. His father had been in a strange mood all summer, sneaking around, whispering to Draco's mother.

Narcissa had finally come into Draco's room one night near the end of the holidays and told him the reason. He could tell that Narcissa was anything but happy about it, but she wouldn't tell him why.

His own reasons for not being happy about it mostly revolved around Andrea Martin; he was a Malfoy, therefore it was inevitable that he would become involved with the Dark wizards who followed Lord Voldemort. If there had been any hope in his heart that there was anything, anything at all between him and Andrea at the end of the previous year, it had been snatched away from him.

Before he knew it, everybody was packing their things away and Pansy was nudging him.

"Is something wrong, Draco?" She asked.

"No, Pansy," he replied shortly, picking up his bag and heading for the door. Andrea reached the door at the same time as him, their eyes locking for a split second before she looked away. He gestured for her to go through first, and she shot him a small smile before rushing out of the room.

"I saw that," Blaise Zabini said quietly.

"Saw what?" Draco feigned innocence. Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"You know what, Malfoy," he said, winking. Draco waved a dismissive hand.

* * *

Andrea sighed as she rolled out of bed. It was Saturday, and she groaned at the thought of the massive pile of homework she had to get through. They'd only been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks, but the teachers never went easy on them.

She slowly got dressed and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She went and sat down next to Seamus, who greeted her with a smile.

"Morning," he said cheerfully.

"Morning, Seamus," she replied. She decided she wanted to go for a walk. "I'm just going to take a few things and go for a walk," she told Seamus, who nodded.

"Alright," he said, taking a bite of his toast. Andrea grabbed a few croissants and slices of toast. She waved her wand and a small plastic bag appeared for her to put them in. She shoved them in her satchel, said goodbye to Seamus and left the Great Hall.

She walked across the grounds, past Hagrid's hut and down towards the Forbidden Forest. She stepped over branches and heard the crunch of the leaves on her feet as she went.

She came to a clearing and headed over to a large tree. She sat down and leant back against the tree, pulling the food out.

"Hello, Andrea," a soft voice said. Andrea looked over and smiled.

"Hey, Luna," she replied. Luna Lovegood joined her on the ground, the ends of her long blonde hair brushing the leaves she sat on.

The two girls sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"I see they haven't come out yet," Luna said, her eyes scanning the clearing. Andrea shook her head.

"Not yet," she said, sighing.

"Oh, look!" Luna exclaimed quietly, pointing to the other side of the clearing where a baby Thestral was stumbling across the Forest ground. The two girls watched the creature make its way across to them curiously. Andrea smiled to herself.

"He must be a very new one," Luna observed.

"I'll ask Hagrid when I next see him around," Andrea said. "I forgot to bring food for them."

"That's alright, I've got some," the younger witch said. She fished around in her bag and pulled out a small, fresh piece of raw meat. She waited for the Thestral's curiosity to bring it closer, before quietly standing and tossing the food to it.

The tiny creature devoured the meat and directed its blank gaze at the girls. Andrea giggled.

"Aw, he's hungry," she said.

"Well, I only brought a little piece with me today," Luna said. Andrea stood up.

"Are you going to that thing in Hogsmeade today?" She asked. Luna nodded.

"Oh yes. I assume I'll see you there?" She replied. Andrea nodded, smiling.

"See you later, Luna."

"Goodbye, Andrea."

Andrea left the clearing and made her way back up to the castle. Hermione had called a meeting in the Hogs Head about their lack of proper teaching in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

* * *

"Er – hi. We all know why we're here," Hermione began, addressing the small crowd of students that was staring at her. "We need a teacher. A proper teacher. Someone with real experience fighting the Dark Arts. I had the idea that it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands."

"Why?" Zacharias Smith asked.

"Why?" Ron repeated incredulously. "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot!"

"So he says."

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione said.

"So Dumbledore says because he says. The point is, where's the proof?" Andrea didn't know who was talking, but she was ready to hex him.

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed," another boy suggested.

"You really want details about how a fellow student was _murdered_?!" Andrea snapped. "You sick bastard."

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric," Harry said, standing up. "If that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now." He muttered something to Hermione, who looked ready to argue.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" Luna asked from somewhere near the back.

"I heard it was a stag Patronus that you make," another girl that Andrea recognised as Susan Bones said.

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"I've seen it," Andrea piped up.

"And he killed the Basilisk in our second year, with the sword in Dumbledore's office," Terry Boot said. Harry nodded.

Many students began reeling off everything that Harry had done in the last five years, and Andrea sat back and listened to everything being said. She signed her name on the parchment Hermione passed around at the end and headed back to the castle to make a start on her homework.

* * *

Draco was stood outside the dungeons with Crabbe and Goyle, waiting for Snape to let them in for Potions.

"Umbridge gave the Slytherins permission to resume playing Quidditch instantly," he was saying. "It's probably due to her knowing my father really well. It'll be interesting to see if she lets Gryffindor keep playing, won't it?" He made sure that Potter, Weasley and Granger were within earshot.

"Yeah," Goyle agreed, scoffing.

"I mean, if it comes down to Ministry influence, they haven't really got a chance. How many good things do you actually hear about Arthur Weasley? Apparently, they've been looking for an excuse to sack him for years. As for Potter, my father thinks he should be taken to St Mungos, and he reckons it's only a matter of time before they do – I heard there's a special ward for people whose brains have been messed with by magic."

Neville Longbottom suddenly lurched towards them, his face contorted with anger. Draco had never seen him so riled up. Crabbe and Goyle stood in front of him, flexing their arms so as to look as intimidating as possible. Potter and Weasley held Longbottom back.

"Oh _wow_," a voice said from behind Draco. He spun around to see Andrea Martin stood there, arms folded across her chest. "I'm so _impressed_, Malfoy. You actually need the two thicko's to stand in front of you at any _hint_ of a fight. You're such a coward." Her brown eyes sparkled with anger, and Draco couldn't think of anything to retort. He didn't have the heart to insult her, even though he knew he should.

Snape opened the door and scolded the three Gryffindor boys, deducting house points before letting the class inside. Andrea pushed past Draco angrily and he groaned inwardly. He was never going to get a chance.

Next to him, Blaise sniggered and shook his head.

"You can be such a prat sometimes," he said.

"Shut up," Draco muttered as he sulkily sat down near the back of the room.

* * *

"I could've killed him," Andrea muttered, watching her frog dart across the desk in Charms. "_Silencio._"

"Surely you're used to it by now?" Seamus asked, flicking his wand at his frog. It carried on croaking.

"Keep trying Mr. Finnigan," Professor Flitwick said cheerfully as he passed their desk.

"I suppose I am used to it, but he had no right to say those things about Harry or Mr. Weasley. _Silencio!_" Her frog still opened its mouth to croak, but no sound came out.

"Well done, Miss Martin!" Andrea forced a smile at Flitwick as he praised her, and then sighed when he carried on walking.

"He pisses everyone off Andie," Dean said. Seamus then leaned closer to her.

"But I've seen him looking at you more than he should."

"What do you mean?" Andrea asked, frowning. Seamus raised an eyebrow.

"I think he likes you." Andrea scoffed.

"Yeah, right!" She exclaimed, laughing. Seamus was about to reply when Harry appeared in front of Andrea.

"Hey Andie," he said. "Luna told me you can see Thestrals. I didn't know you could."

"Yeah, I've been able to since before I came here," Andrea replied. "Of course, I didn't know until I came here."

"Who did you see…?" Harry trailed off, but Andrea knew what he meant.

"My brother," she said. "He was older than me by five years, and he was in his fifth year here at Hogwarts. He was walking me to the shop one day in the Christmas holidays and a guy lost control of his car. Matthew threw me out of the way, and it resulted in him getting hit by the car." Seamus and Harry were silent. She had never told anyone but Luna and Hermione this.

"He was still alive, but barely, and the guy in the car called an ambulance. I sat down beside him and held his hand, and I remember him telling me he loved me and that he was sorry he wouldn't be there to see me start Hogwarts," Andrea's voice cracked. "He died before the ambulance got there." Seamus' arms were around her in an instant and she buried her face in his chest, trying to stem the tears.

"I'm so sorry, Andie," Harry said quietly. Andrea pulled away from Seamus and wiped her eyes.

"It's fine," she said. "I'm surprised I managed to keep it to myself for this long." She managed a small smile as Flitwick told them to settle down. Harry returned to his seat, and everyone wrote down the homework before packing away and leaving the room.

"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts now," Dean said. Andrea groaned.

"That's just what I need right now," she mumbled.

"You'll be fine," Seamus said. "Me and Dean sit right behind you."

They entered Umbridge's classroom to find her standing at the front.

"Could everyone please wait at the back of the classroom," she said, and Andrea wished she could do something about the teacher's irritatingly squeaky voice.

Once everyone was in the class, Umbridge pulled out a scroll of parchment.

"I have assigned everyone a seat," she said. "This is an efficient way to improve learning within the classroom." Whispers broke out within the students; nobody was happy with this.

Umbridge began reading out names and pointing to desks, and the students reluctantly sat where they were told. Nobody wanted detention with Umbridge if they could avoid it.

"Malfoy, Draco," she called. "Martin, Andrea." Dean squeezed Andrea's hand reassuringly and she looked at him.

_Help!_ She mouthed. He shrugged.

_Wish I could._

Andrea had no choice but to sit next to Malfoy, and she sat as far away from him on the bench as possible.

* * *

Draco caught Blaise's eye from across the room. The latter had been seated next to Weasley, and he was far from happy about it.

Blaise's eyes flickered to Andrea, silently asking how the atmosphere was between her and Draco. Draco gave a slight shake of his head, his grey eyes sad.


	4. 5th Year (Part 2)

**Sorry guys, I've had serious writers block! I hope you like the latest chapter - R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Andrea, the rest is Jo Rowling's.**

* * *

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Andrea said, flicking her wand. A wondrous silver ferret erupted from it and danced around in front of her. She giggled.

"Well done, Andie!" Harry exclaimed as he passed her.

Dumbledore's Army was going well. Andrea had successfully learned numerous different spells and jinxes used for defending oneself.

There was a sudden banging sound and a rumbling, causing the Room of Requirement to shake. Harry and Nigel Creevey went to the far wall to investigate. Harry suddenly yanked Nigel away just a moment before the wall was blown up to reveal a very triumphant Dolores Umbridge. Filch was behind her, and behind him was the Slytherins who made up the Inquisitorial Squad.

Draco Malfoy appeared next to Umbridge, dragging a very guilty looking Cho Chang. Andrea couldn't imagine what Harry was feeling at that moment.

"Get them!" Umbridge hissed, and Andrea saw all the Slytherins gleeful faces. But she was a little puzzled when she noticed that Malfoy's expression seemed a little forced, and he was avoiding looking at her.

* * *

The next thing they knew, Umbridge was Headmistress of Hogwarts and every member of the DA ended up in a mass detention in the Great Hall.

Andrea held in a whimper as the pain shot through the back of her hand and caught the eye of George, who sent her a sympathetic look before looking daggers at Umbridge.

After what seemed like hours, they were finally dismissed. They all left the Great Hall, nursing their hands. Cho was waiting outside, but the students either paid no attention to her or wordlessly told her exactly what they thought of her; Zacharias Smith barged into her with his shoulder, a few of them just glared at her, and Harry gave her a look that said "who are you?"

* * *

Draco observed Andrea at breakfast the next morning. She wasn't eating anything, and her right hand was bandaged. Her chocolate brown eyes were missing their usual sparkle, and there were dark rings around them.

When he'd seen her in that room, he thought his heart had stopped. He should've known she'd been involved.

"What's up, mate?" Crabbe asked between mouthfuls of toast.

"Nothing," Draco snapped. "Are you going for a world record of how much toast you can fit in your mouth?" Crabbe paused, before shrugging and carrying on eating. When Draco Malfoy was in a bad mood, arguing with him was not a good idea.

Draco sighed, and turned his attention back to the beautiful Gryffindor on the other side of the room. It looked like Finnigan and Thomas were trying to encourage her to eat, but she just shrugged them off. The two lads glanced at each other helplessly, and then Thomas grinned.

Draco watched as he picked up a croissant and broke the end off. He held it in the air and pretended it was flying towards Andrea's mouth. She giggled and opened her mouth for the food. Finnigan and Thomas clapped when she ate it, and she grinned. Draco had no idea what Thomas had just done with the piece of croissant, and his confusion must've shown on his face.

"It's a Muggle thing, they do it for their kids," Blaise's voiced made him jump.

"What do you mean?"

"When Muggle kids are young, like two or three, their parents get a piece of their food and pretend it's flying – like those plane things – and it encourages the kid to eat because it 'flies' into their mouth."

"Seems a bit strange."

"Well, it worked for Martin, didn't it?"

"But she's not a kid."

"It's humorous, and she's apparently not feeling the best since that detention," Blaise said. "So Finnigan and Thomas are trying to cheer her up."

"Well it's apparently working," Draco muttered, watching the three Gryffindor's laugh together. Blaise sighed.

"I don't know how you expect to get her to stop hating you if all you do is watch her from afar and manage to have your pratty moments whenever she's around," he said.

"I can't exactly talk to her, can I?" Draco cried. "And that's always accidental, she's not meant to be there when I insult her stupid friends or whatever."

"Well, just try to be aware of her presence every now and again." Draco sighed.

* * *

Andrea was with Neville in the library when she felt something strange in her pocket. She frowned and shoved her hand in, pulling out the fake Galleon they used for the DA meetings.

"What is it?" Neville asked. "Is something wrong?"

"It's heating up, but there are no more meetings," Andrea said.

"Let's go and find Harry," Neville suggested. "We can find out what's going on."

The two left the library and were going to head to the common room, but they bumped into Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Luna at the end of the Defence Against The Dark Arts corridor.

"Harry, what's going on?" Neville asked when they reached the group.

"We need a distraction," Harry said. "We need to get into Umbridge's office to use the Floo Network, but we need you guys to keep the Inquisitorial Squad away. Ron's gone to deal with Umbridge."

"Sure," Andrea said.

* * *

Draco was patrolling the corridors with Blaise, keeping an eye out for any rule-breaking on orders from Umbridge. Everything was quiet, with most inhabitants of the castle in the Great Hall for dinner. There was a sudden bang from around the corner and the Slytherins ran to investigate, wands at the ready.

They rounded the corner and nothing seemed to be wrong.

"Probably Peeves," Draco muttered, his eyes scanning the space. Blaise was quiet, looking for any sign of disturbance. Peeves would make himself known – whoever had caused the bang had apparently fled.

Blaise suddenly glimpsed a flash as someone darted away from them.

"There!" He cried, but before either of them could move there was another bang from the opposite direction.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," Blaise instructed Draco, who nodded and headed in the direction of the second bang. Blaise adjusted his grip on his wand before briskly walking in pursuit of the person he'd seen. He might only have caught a glimpse, but it was enough for him to guess who it was, which was why he'd suggested Draco go the other way.

Andrea waited for the two Slytherins to move further away from her, and a few more moments until she was sure the coast was clear, before she stepped out from behind a suit of armour. She breathed a sigh of relief, but gasped when she felt a wand pointed at her throat.

"Martin," said a deep voice.

"Zabini," Andrea replied, turning to face him.

"What's all the ruckus for?" He asked, the corners of his lips twitching. Andrea knew he was trying to intimidate her into revealing the DA's plans, but she had no intention of telling him anything.

"I got bored." She shrugged.

"Well then, maybe Professor Umbridge has a cure for this case of boredom," Blaise said, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. She could detect something else in his tone, too; regret? Annoyance?

Whatever it was, Andrea could tell that he didn't want to take her to Umbridge.

He pushed her gently and led her through the quiet corridors, through the Defence classroom and into the glaringly pink office.

But it seemed that Andrea had not been caught first: Harry was sat in a chair in the middle of the room, holding the furious gaze of Dolores Umbridge, seventh year Slytherin Cassius Warrington had a hold of Luna Lovegood, Ginny was held tightly by a sixth year Slytherin girl, Goyle had Ron, Crabbe had Hermione and Blaise joined the end of the line with Andrea, although she noticed that his wand wasn't held quite as menacingly close to her as the others held theirs.

A few moments passed, the only sounds filling the room being the strained grunts and gasps of the captured as they tried in vain to get out of the grip of the Slytherins. The door burst open and Neville was shoved into the room by Malfoy.

"Caught this one trying to help the Weasley girl!" Malfoy exclaimed triumphantly. He then caught Blaise's eye and realised who his friend held in front of him, and his smile faltered.

Again, he should've known Andrea would be involved.

He held Neville in front of him and said nothing more. He kept his grip tight on the Gryffindor, but paid no attention to the scene before him.

He really needed to get over this.

* * *

Umbridge held her wand to Hermione and Harry as they led her out of the room, leaving the Inquisitorial Squad in charge. Ron tried in vain to get out of Goyle's grip, Ginny tried harder than ever to stamp on her captors foot, Neville struggled to no avail. Andrea half heartedly tried to escape Blaise, but she was too focused on trying to think of a way to escape.

She heard Ron clear his throat and looked up to see if he meant anything by it. He did.

_Puking Pastilles?_ He mouthed. She suppressed a smile.

"Zabini, could you reach into my right pocket and get out a couple of sweets for me to have?" She asked.

Blaise hesitated before slowly pulling a handful of small wrapped sweets from her pocket. There were six altogether, enough to give to each of the Slytherins.

"They can't have those, they're the troublemakers!" Crabbe said, his beady eyes staring hungrily at the sweets in Blaise's hand.

"I agree, we should get those," Warrington said. Andrea felt Blaise shrug behind her and he passed each of his housemates one.

"Sorry Martin," he said.

"Greedy bastards," she muttered, but she caught Ron's eye and winked.

It didn't take long for the vomiting to start, and Ginny finally succeeded in kicking the girl who had been holding her. The Gryffindors and Luna managed to get out of Umbridge's office with their wands without too much trouble.

"We need to find Harry and Hermione!" Ron cried, and Andrea winced at the desperation in his voice.

"What is this all about anyway?" She asked as they ran through the school and out onto the grounds.

"Harry thinks You-Know-Who's got Sirius in the Department of Mysteries," Ron explained, panting slightly.

"So I take it he wants to go there?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "There they are!" He pointed to the bridge and the group met the two halfway. "Where's Umbridge?"

"She got carried away by a herd of centaurs," Harry replied.

"Has You-Know-Who got Sirius?" Ron asked.

"Yes, and I'm sure he's still alive," Harry said, wincing. "But I'm not sure how we're going to get there."

"We fly of course," Luna said.

"There's no "we", Harry stated irritably. "Plus, Ron's the only one with a broom that hasn't been confiscated –"

"I've got a broom!" Ginny interrupted.

"You're not going!" Ron said angrily.

"You're too–" Harry began.

"Excuse me!" Ginny stopped him. "I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Philosophers Stone."

"We were all in the DA together," Andrea reminded Harry.

"Yeah," Neville said. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real - or was that all just words to you?"

"No, of course it wasn't," Harry said impatiently.

"Then we should come too; we want to help," Neville said.

Andrea saw Ron and Harry exchange a glance.

"It doesn't matter anyway, because we still don't know how to get there–"

"I already told you," Luna said, her tone beginning to show her frustration. "We don't need broomsticks. And Hagrid said that they're usually very good at finding the places they're looking for."

"Of course," Andrea said, grinning. "There!" She pointed at two Thestrals that had just appeared. Harry whirled around.

"Yes!" He exclaimed.

"Is it those horse things?" Asked Ron uncertainly.

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"Two."

"We need three," Hermione said.

"There are actually seven of us," Luna said calmly.

"Look, it's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, all of you but I've got you into enough trouble as it is," Harry said.

"If we cared about that, we wouldn't be here," Andrea said.

"Maybe you don't have to do this all by yourself mate," Ron said. Harry sighed in defeat.

"And look, more Thestrals are coming to help," Luna said happily.

"I think someone should stay behind to hold off the Inquisitorial Squad and them," Andrea suggested.

"That's a good idea," Hermione agreed.

"Gin–" Ron began.

"Not a chance, Ron," she snapped.

"I'll do it," Andrea said, fed up of the arguments. "Being the twins' apprentice gives me an advantage. You guys go and get this sorted." They all nodded and she stayed for a few moments to help Ginny, Ron and Hermione onto the Thestrals, finding amusement in their unease at sitting on something they couldn't see.

"Good luck!" They all called to her as they took off.

"Likewise!" She yelled before running back up to the school.

She ran through a list of jinxes in her head as she headed in the direction of Umbridge's classroom, although she couldn't be sure that the Squad hadn't already left; the vomiting should have ceased by now.

Dinner in the Great Hall was finished now, so Andrea was able to slip into the swarm of students.

"Andie!" A familiar voice called out, and she spun around to see Seamus and Dean fighting their way towards her. She sighed. They must've noticed a few absences at the Gryffindor table during dinner.

"Hey guys," she said, forcing a smile.

"Where were you during dinner? Where were Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville?" Seamus asked. Andrea looked around before pulling them into an empty classroom.

"I can't tell you what's going on because I'm not entirely sure what's going on," she said. "But I need your help to keep the Inquisitorial Squad busy."

"Okay," Seamus said. "Where are they?"

"I'm not sure. We left them in Umbridge's office throwing their guts up."

"So we have to walk around looking for them?" Dean was sceptical.

"It'll be fun. We're just going to play some practical jokes on them," Andie reassured them. "It's for the DA."

"Let's do it!" Seamus said. The two lads took out their wands and followed Andrea out.

"Just make sure you don't get caught like we all did," Andrea told them, giggling.

The three of them slipped back into the thinning crowd of students, their eyes scanning each corner of the corridors they walked through. Eventually, they were the only students still roaming the school.

"We should split up," Andrea suggested when they reached the Defence Against The Dark Arts corridor. "Seamus, you go towards Charms. Dean, you head up to the Astronomy tower, and I'll go down to the dungeons."

"Is that such a good idea?" Dean asked. "Maybe one of us should go to the dungeons."

"I'll be fine," Andrea assured him.

"Send up your Patronus if you need one of us," Seamus suggested. "It's a ferret, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do that if something goes wrong," Andrea said.

"Be careful!" Seamus called as she walked away from them.

* * *

"They've just disappeared!" Blaise told Draco as they met up outside of Umbridge's classroom.

"I know, I can't find any of them," Draco replied. "Have the others had any luck?"

"Not as far as I know." The two were silent for a few minutes.

"Can you hear that?" Draco asked Blaise. They listened, and the other Slytherin nodded as he heard the voices that Draco had heard. He held a finger to his lips and led the way to where the voices were coming from.

"Send up your Patronus if you need one of us," someone said. "It's a ferret, isn't it?"

"That's Finnigan, isn't it?" Draco whispered. Blaise nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do that if something goes wrong." Draco's heart rate increased as he recognised Andrea's voice. Blaise glanced at him.

"Be careful!" Finnigan called as Andrea's footsteps faded. "I still don't like the idea of her going down to the dungeons on her own," the Slytherins heard him mutter to someone else, and then their footsteps faded, too.

"I'm going down to the dungeons," Draco said as soon as they were alone.

"Is that really such a good idea?" Blaise asked.

"Warrington's looking in the dungeons," Draco snapped. "I am not going to let him get a hold of her."

"I'll go after Finnigan," Blaise said. "Just be careful. Make sure no suspicions arise with Warrington about Martin."

"I know." Draco headed down to the dungeons, keeping an eye out for Andrea.

* * *

Andrea held her wand out in front of her as she crept through the dungeons. She shivered as the air grew colder but didn't stop.

Finally, she heard mumbling, and froze when she recognised the voice as belonging to Cassius Warrington. She took a deep breath as she fished around in her pocket and pulled out a few Muggle poppers that the Weasley twins had modified to create loud bangs a few seconds after they hit the floor.

She threw the handful of poppers in the direction of Warrington's voice and ran back the way she had come. She heard a series of bangs and Warrington's anger echo through the space, and she made an effort to suppress a triumphant laugh.

That was before an arm reached out and pulled her into a broomcloset. The door was slammed behind her and she spun around, coming face to face with Malfoy. She pointed her wand at him.

"Evening Malfoy," she said.

"Martin." Being in such a confined space with each other reminded them both of the end of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament.

"I can't believe I missed dinner for this," she said, shaking her head.

"You made the choice to break the rules." She shrugged.

"I needed to do something to cure my boredom." Malfoy seemed to be struggling with himself.

"Warrington's not a guy you prank," he finally said.

"Why do you care who I prank?" Andrea asked, frowning. Malfoy froze. "Warrington will be gone by the end of the year, so I may as well have some fun."

"He won't forgive just because he left school–"

"I'll ask again, Malfoy, why the hell do–"

He didn't let her finish.

He stepped forward, pushed her back against the wall of the broomcloset, and kissed her.

* * *

Seamus and Dean ran towards Andrea as she emerged from the entrance to the dungeons.

"Andie, we heard the bangs," Seamus said.

"It was just the poppers, it's fine," Andrea said. She sounded distant, and her friends questioned her wellbeing, but she wouldn't tell them. She couldn't tell them.

The three of them went back to the common room after creating some more disruption and Andrea ran straight up to the girls dormitories. She dived straight onto her bed and closed the curtains, ignoring Lavender and Pavarti. She cast a Silencing Charm and buried her face in her pillow, going over and over again in her mind what had happened in that broomcloset.

* * *

_ She was pressed up against the wall, his body pressed against hers. She didn't know what was going through his mind, why he thought this was acceptable._

_ All she knew was that the feeling that had overcome her body when Draco Malfoy had held her when she was in emotional turmoil at the end of last year was very much still present._

_ She remained frozen for a few seconds before she responded to him, unable to control what she was doing. He kissed her with a passion she didn't know he possessed, and she kissed him back with a matching passion that surprised her. How could she feel this way about Draco Malfoy, of all people?_

_ His hands were on his waist, her arms around his neck, and slowly his lips moved down to her neck and gave her room to breathe. As she took deep breaths, she realised what she was doing, who she was with. She had to force herself to ignore the realisations she'd just had about how she felt about Draco Malfoy. _

_ Andrea adjusted the grip she had on her wand and used everything she had to push Malfoy away. She didn't look at his face; she couldn't look at his face, as she pushed past him and opened the door of the broomcloset. She ran to the entrance of the dungeons, not looking behind her, not caring if any Slytherins were about._

_ When she met up with Seamus and Dean, she was still trying to make sense of what had just happened._

* * *

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna were returned to the school in good physical health, but Ginny tearfully revealed to Andrea that Sirius was dead.

Andrea didn't know what to do. There was so much going on but she could turn to no one. Not about Malfoy, anyway.

She saw him everywhere over the last few days of term, caught him looking at her all the time. His grey eyes bore into hers, and her emotions wrestled with each other. She burst into tears a few times, but was unable to tell anyone why. She felt incredibly guilty to be driving herself insane because of this when Harry had just lost the only family he had.

But where he had support and had people everywhere trying to help him, she had no one, nothing.

* * *

Draco was silent on the train ride home.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Pansy asked, clinging to his arm.

"Nothing, Pansy." Blaise scoffed at the lie, but covered it up with a cough when Draco glared at him.

"Nothing," he repeated. Blaise broke eye contact, and Pansy left the matter alone, leaving Draco to dwell in his thoughts.

_She'd kissed him back._


End file.
